Mountain Views News          Saturday, June 9, 2012

12

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday June 9, 2012 


BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA


SCHEDULING TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

“Who on earth has that much time in their life for all this social media stuff, 
Arggghhhh!” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that from a seasoned, savvy 
business owner, I’d be writing this from a villa in Italy. 

Most business owners are in the same boat. They come into the era of Social 
Media Marketing kicking and screaming but they know it’s important. They 
realize Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest and email are where their customers are 
hanging out. 

Marketing has changed dramatically since Social Media and Email Marketing have come on the 
scene. If you don’t have an extra 10 hours a day to give to it, there are a lot of ways to streamline. 
Technology is your friend. Let me repeat, “technology is your friend.” Use it. 

Here are a few tools that will save you time:

• Hootsuite (hootsuite.com) is a social media dashboard. It allows you to schedule posts to 
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, WordPress and others. You manage your social networks in 
one place. You can even respond to others through this system. It even provides you with measuring 
tools. They have mobile so your dashboard goes with you in the palm of your hand. Depending on 
your needs, they have a paid version and a free version of this tool. 
• Facebook now allows you to schedule posts. Look for the clock in the lower left corner of 
the publisher (the place you write in your post, see screen shot below). You can schedule posts up to 6 
months out. You can see all of your scheduled posts under the activity log of your page. Make a list of 
good quality information that you can post and spread it out over the next 6 months. There are lots 
of ways you can use this new feature. It will help you keep your page up to date. If you have a blank 
page on Facebook, people might assume you have gone out of business, especially in this economy. 
Try to post (or schedule) something at least 3 times a week.
• Simple share tool in Constant Contact. If you are using Constant Contact for your email 
marketing, you can extend the reach of your emails by sharing them to your social networks. When 
you schedule your email to deliver to your list, you can push one button that will also schedule your 
email to post on Twitter or Facebook. 
• Use voice recognition on your smart phone. Do you know Siri? She has become my new 
best friend. Siri is the voice recognition tool on the iphone (other phones have something similar). 
It allows you to compose a message with your voice instead of your thumbs on your smart phone 
(you speak and it translates it into type). You can compose an email or a social media post just by 
talking in your phone. I like to demonstrate this trick in our workshops. I’ve been able to update 
my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and my web site from a remote location in 14 seconds! Who says it 
should take 10 hours?


Do you have any questions about Social Media or Email marketing you would like me to answer in 
this column? If so, message our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hutdogs.

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that also specializes in Social Media 
Education for business owners. Join their conversation on Facebook and get good tips and tricks about social media, 
www.facebook.com/hutdogs 

For a list of upcoming classes go to: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/schedule

NONPROFIT BOARDS THAT DON’T GIVE, WON’T GET 

Raising funds is one of the most important roles played by a nonprofit board of directors. 
Agencies of all sizes recruit members in hopes of establishing the type of board that takes a 
leadership role in raising funds. It is important that each boardmember makes an annual 
pledge for some level of cash donation. A minimum amount is usually determined by 
a board vote and may be adjusted as times and situations change. Some boards ask that 
members personally “give” or take responsibility to “get” the minimum pledge from some 
other source, contact or fundraising activity.

Nonprofit boards with a track record of effectiveness in fundraising demonstrate an 
understanding of a basic premise, “A board that will not give is a board that will not get.” A 
board filled with individuals unwilling or uneducated about the necessity of committing to 
some level of personal financial commitment is not empowered to encourage others to give 
at any significant level.

Organizations with development professionals on staff are better equipped to assist and 
support the board with systems and processes to follow through with their financial 
commitments. Preparing solicitation letters, accompanying members to pre-arranged 
meetings to request donations from prospects, or grooming members on how to contact 
and communicate with foundations on behalf of the agency are some of the tasks routinely 
carried out by development personnel. One or more members routinely serve as chair or 
co-chairs for the board’s development activities. They work with the executive director to 
determine annual fundraising plans, campaigns and fundraising events.

Raising funds to support programs is an ongoing challenge for all nonprofits, but many 
smaller organizations never invest the time needed to lay the foundation that would increase 
returns from their fundraising efforts. Most of their boardmembers sign on without any 
basic orientation regarding the agency’s expectations of them as a donor. This results in 
a board that “does not give” and therefore “cannot get” funds from others on behalf of the 
organization.

The community is better served when nonprofits have expectations of the board as 
volunteer-donors. Nonprofits that operate without this expectation will need one or more 
boardmembers willing to take on this issue as a project. An outside consultant experienced 
in providing training to the group in this area is worth the investment. A board properly 
educated, equipped and supported as a fundraising body frees the staff to focus on programs 
and services, thereby increasing the overall quality and value of the agency to the community. 


OMG - Oh my gosh, did you know………

by Patricia Richardson, M.B.A., Intuit Certified ProAdvisor

…Free Weekly Online Quickbooks Q & A Session

Want to find out what’s new with QuickBooks 2012? The program 
has many new features that will make your accounting life easier. The 
new refresh Excel data allows you to update existing Excel worksheets, 
preserving formulas you have created and format changes (such as column widths and 
headers). In other words, now you have choices when you export a report to Excel. You can 
export to a new worksheet or update an existing worksheet. 

The new Lead Center is an exciting new feature that allows you and your QuickBooks users 
to manage sales prospects without immediately turning them into customers. The user can 
specify the type of lead (hot, warm or cold), edit this lead by changing the information 
or adding To Do’s or notes, convert it to a Customer while retaining all information, or 
importing multiple leads into QuickBooks from a spreadsheet. 

Please feel free to join me on Friday mornings from 9:00 – 9:30am online at www.
QBworkShop.com for a free QuickBooks question and answer session (requires 24 hours 
notice for registration).

…Tax Credit for Hiring U.S. Veterans?

Your company still has time to qualify for a Federal tax credit of up to $9,600 for each 
qualified veteran hired after November 21, 2011 and before January 1, 2013. Under 
the U.S. Department of Labor’s “Vow To Hire Heroes Act” signed by President Obama 
on November 21, 2011, Congress expanded this incentive to encourage the hiring of 
individuals who have returned from serving in the armed forces.

The WOTC is a Federal tax credit incentive that is currently available to employers for 
hiring individuals from eight certain target groups, including veterans from the Armed 
Forces. In order to claim the tax credit, an employer must comply with a pre-screening 
and certification process to ensure that a (potential) employee is a member of the targeted 
group.

Normally, an eligible employer must file Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification 
Request for the Work Opportunity Credit, with their respective state workforce agency 
within 28 days after the eligible worker begins work. But under a special rule included 
in IRS Notice 2012-13, employers have until June 19, 2012, to complete and file this 
newly-revised form for veterans hired on or after Nov. 22, 2011, and before May 22, 
2012. The 28-day rule will again apply to eligible veterans hired on or after May 22, 2012.

For information, visit the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training 
Administration Website at http://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/. For 
professional services to implement a screening and certification process for your company, 
contact Patty Richardson at patti@qbworkshop.com